Thanks to some helpful direction from Rhino users, I have made some progress with the eval copy, toward determining if I can use Rhino by itself to replace the 3 older, stand-alone copies of the programs I use currently. I imported my AutoCAD files including templates and layers (huge time saver) and made changes/new drawings and have built some 3D models from them as I do in AutoCAD, including slicing multiple elements along specific angles.
More recently I created materials, mapped a model and rendered a scene as I do with those models in 3ds Max in my current workflow, to show potential customers the product’s appearance.
The last part of my work which I’m hoping to be able to replicate in Rhino, involves taking the AutoCAD models, (freeform floating golf greens with angled tops) once prepared (sectioned to match construction methods) and importing them into Autodesk Inventor, applying real-life materials (and some custom ones I’ve created to match certain aspects) which gives me a total weight and COG information which is very accurate.
I developed a process where I then apply stand-ins for the floats to the base, placed where they will be when the unit is built, and run a simulation which tells me what the load is on each. That data goes in a spreadsheet which tells the builder how deep to place the floats into the units.
That is a critical part of my process, as it allows the owner to be confident he can put these greens into the lake and know they will float level, 2" above the water, with very little adjustment needed, if any. In prior years he would make educated guesses and adjust on-site with weights and tie-downs, was his biggest expense with installs. Given some of these have weighed 20,000 lbs and had many floats of varying sizes, it was well worth the time I spent figuring it out. I have images of some of these on my website, appears I cannot add a photo here.
I’ve been trying to find tutorials on similar processes using Rhino, the closest I’ve found involved working on a cloud-based app. It seemed similar but convoluted. However I noted the Grasshopper tool, but that seems more like a 3ds Max physics engine for animations.
Based on what I’ve described, does it seem possible to do those kind of simulations using Rhino, and if so can it be done by a plug-in, or is the cloud method the typical way?
I’m fine with either, probably save my computer to do it on the cloud, be faster.
Simulations task my older computer even though it was a powerful unit for its time. I was pleased to see that my laptop handled the rendering process in Rhino pretty well, but I am planning to buy a desktop set up for just that kind of work if I go this way.
Thank you for any information.